2018 Macedonian referendum

A referendum was held in the Republic of Macedonia on 30 September 2018, with voters asked whether they supported EU and NATO membership by accepting the Prespa agreement between Macedonia and Greece in June 2018, which aimed to settle the 27-year naming dispute,[1][2] which had prevented Macedonia from joining both the European Union and NATO.[3] Despite 94% of voters voting in favour, voter turnout was less than the 50 percent threshold required to validate the results.[4]

2018 Macedonian referendum

Are you in favour of European Union and NATO membership by accepting the agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece?

Results

Votes

%

Yes

609,427

7001941800000000000♠94.18%

No

37,687

7000582000000000000♠5.82%

Valid votes

647,114

7001971100000000000♠97.11%

Invalid or blank votes

19,230

7000289000000000000♠2.89%

Total votes

666,344

100.00%

Registered voters/turnout

1,806,336

7001368900000000000♠36.89%

Results by county

Yes No

Both the opposition and government claimed victory, with the opposition claiming that the proposal had been rejected by virtue of the low turnout and the government argued that the result being non-binding meant the turnout requirement was irrelevant. As the referendum was non-binding and included constitutional changes, it also had to be ratified by two-thirds of the Assembly of the Republic.[5]Macedonian Prime MinisterZoran Zaev vowed to push forward with the changes in the Assembly,[6] which was achieved on 19 October 2018, when 80 of the 120 MPs voted in favour of the renaming proposal, just reaching the two-thirds majority required.

On 12 June 2018, Tsipras announced that he had reached an agreement with Zaev "which covers all the preconditions set by the Greek side".[12] The proposal would result in the Republic of Macedonia being renamed the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Северна Македонија, translit.Republika Severna Makedonija), with the new name being used for all purposes.[13] Zaev announced that the deal includes recognition of the Macedonian language in the United Nations and that the citizenship of the country will be called, Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia. Also, there would be an explicit clarification that the citizens of the country are not related to the ancient Macedonians.[14][15] "The agreement once and for always confirms and strengthens the Macedonian ethnic and cultural identity, the Macedonian language, the Macedonian nationality. It guarantees the security of the country and provides a secure future for the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia", Zaev said.[16] These changes were to be put to a referendum for citizens of the Republic of Macedonia in September 2018. Additionally, the agreement stipulates the removal of the Vergina Sun from public use in the Republic of Macedonia and the formation of a committee for the review of school textbooks and maps in both countries for the removal of irredentist content and to align them with UNESCO and Council of Europe's standards.[17] The agreement was signed at Lake Prespa, a body of water which is divided among Macedonia, Greece and Albania.

The Assembly of the Republic paved the way for the referendum by ratifying the agreement for a second time in early July.[18] After a month long delay by the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE to slow down the referendum preparation by not appointing members to the State Election Commission, the Assembly finally agreed as of the end of July on a new composition.[19][20] The Assembly set aside 1.3 million euros for the referendum campaign and as the VMRO-DPMNE opposition refused to participate and access funds, only 900,000 euros was spent on 66 media outlets by politicians supporting a yes vote.[21]

Political scientist Biljana Vankovska claimed that the referendum was unconstitutional, noting that Article 73 of the constitution required referendums to be binding.[22]

Macedonian referendum boycott poster in Struga. Translated it reads: Who gave you the rights to change our name and identity? Our name is Macedonia #I will boycott

The main opposition party VMRO-DPMNE threatened to boycott the referendum and claimed the Prespa agreement to be an act of treason. However, in early September, VMRO-DPMNE president Hristijan Mickoski made a statement encouraging citizens to vote as they saw fit, and that the party would respect different opinions.[33] The party did not participate in the referendum campaign, while several high ranking party members voiced their support for a boycott or the “Yes” side. In early September, a cable from the US embassy in the Republic of Macedonia revealed by WikiLeaks showed that the 2008 VMRO-DPMNE government was willing to accept the name Republic of North Macedonia, for international and bilateral use only, provided it included the recognition of the Macedonian language and nationality.[34][35] The proposal had been rejected by Greece.[36] This was denied by media close to the party,[37][38] which stated that VMRO-DPMNE was only willing to accept changing the FYROM reference to North Macedonia, while keeping the constitutional name the same. On 23 September, President Gjorge Ivanov, who was elected as the VMRO-DPMNE candidate, decried the agreement and called on citizens to boycott the vote. Various other small anti-Western organizations[which?] with pro-Serbian and pro-Russian orientations organized protests against the name change.[39]

Various diplomats and analysts,[41] including U.S. Defense SecretaryJim Mattis,[42] have accused Russia of engaging in a campaign to undermine the referendum. Russia is opposed to any additional countries joining NATO or the European Union.[43] Thousands of fake Twitter and Facebook accounts urged Macedonians to boycott the vote.[41] Some Facebook postings asked "are you going to let Albanians change your name?", attempting to exploit ethnic divisions in the country.[44] The "No" lobby banked on a boycott that could render the referendum result meaningless.[42] Two Russian diplomats were expelled from Greece due to accusations of attempting to undermine relations with Macedonia,[41] and a year earlier Russian citizens were arrested related to a failed coup in Montenegro attempting to prevent that country from joining NATO.[43]

Total turnout for the referendum was at 666,344[45] and of those some 260,000 were ethnic Albanian voters of Macedonia.[46][47] Albanians from Macedonia residing in Western Europe ignored voting in the referendum.[48]

Russia, a staunch opponent of Macedonia's Euro-Atlantic integration, on the other hand, hinted that it could veto the Prespa agreement between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece, by bringing it to the United NationsSecurity Council. Macedonia dismissed Moscow's threats by stating that bilateral agreements can not be dependent on the Security Council.[52][53]

On 19 October 2018, the Assembly voted to start the process of renaming the country Republic of North Macedonia. A total of 80 deputies in the 120-seat Assembly voted in favour of the renaming proposal, just reaching the two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutional changes.[54] On 3 December 2018, the Assembly approved a draft constitutional amendment, with 67 voting in favour, 23 voting against and 4 abstaining. A simple majority was needed at this stage.[55]